Red Carpet Manicure

February 16, 2012

As an at-home manicure gal, I am oh so very excited to share a product with you today.

For me, the thought of shelling out the big bucks at the nail salon for a gel manicure makes me a bit uneasy. I checked around at my local nail salons, and the average price for a gel manicure cured under a LED light runs between $30-$45. I don’t know about you, but that seems like a high price to pay for an everyday manicure…and I would only be able to afford one every once in a blue moon.

The process itself takes a bit of time, but it is relatively simple…you don’t have to be a skilled manicurist to master the process, I promise! You start by cleaning your nails of polish, trimming them, filing, buffing, and pushing your cuticles back. If you need any of the tools, Red Carpet Manicure has an accessories kit that you can purchase that includes them.

Once your nails are prepared, you’re ready to go!

Step 1 involves using the Purify cleanser on your nails (apply with a lint-free pad/cotton ball), and then applying the Prep adhesion sanitizer. It evaporates off of your nails very quickly – nice and simple!

Step 2: apply a layer of the Structure base coat gel, followed by curing it under the LED light. The surface will be sticky, so resist all urges to touch your nails…you don’t want to mess them up!

The next step involves 2 thin coats of the color nail enamel. After each coat, you cure under the LED light again, which will seal the color in! Again, resist the urge to touch your nails…they’ll still be tacky!

The Brilliance seal and shine top coat is next on the list…followed by a final round of curing under the LED light.

Finally, you’re ready to finish things off with the Purify cleanser again. The Purify cleanser will remove any extra tacky residue on your nails and will leave your manicure looking shiny and polished!

The Red Carpet Manicure Starter Kit comes with a bright red polish called Red Carpet Reddy, but there are many other hues to choose from if you aren’t in the mood for red. I used Camera Shy, which is a milky nude shade of polish…it’s perfect for a girl who is looking for a natural look.

I was very impressed by how great my nails turned out with the Red Carpet Manicure. They felt solid, and weren’t susceptible to nicks and cracks like other nail polishes seem to be. With the LED light curing process, you also don’t have to wait for your polish to dry – your nails will be hardened and ready to go as soon as you complete the steps; no waiting around or desperately trying to use a hair dryer to speed dry your nails (yes, I am guilty of that). 5 days after application, my nails are still feeling strong and chip-free for the most part. Since it was my first time applying the gel manicure, I know I didn’t get the process down perfectly and got some of the polish on my cuticles (which makes them susceptible to peeling/chipping when your nails grow out); I know that after a few more applications, I’ll have it down like a pro. I do want to note that the starter kit also includes a polish remover and cuticle oil to keep your nails natural and undamaged.

The Red Carpet Manicure Starter Kit costs $59.99 (plus you’ll have to put 4 AA batteries in the LED light). What is great about this kit is that it absolutely pays for itself after just 2 uses (imagine if you were paying $40 for a gel manicure at a salon…plus a tip). There are many colors of polishes to choose from. I personally want to get my hands on these:

I would definitely recommend picking up a Red Carpet Manicure Starter Set if you’ve been interested in a gel manicure, but aren’t willing to visit the salon to achieve one. The process is simple, and the results are great! You can find Red Carpet Manicure products online on their website, on drugstore.com, and even in-person at ULTA stores!

Colleen – I know that acrylics add length, but I am not familiar with gel manicures adding any length. Then again, I’ve never had lengthening products (like acrylics) applied to my nails before, so I am not an authority on that per se!

The gel manicure is hard and strong – it is definitely more durable than a regular polish manicure. It lasts longer without chipping or peeling as well…so in my mind that is a great benefit of the Red Carpet Manicure…and…hand in hand with it not chipping, it allows my nails to grow out because I’m not messing with them!

Oooooh I’m really tempted to buy this! I love having manicured nails (though sadly at my current job I’m not allowed to wear colored polish). The nude color is so pretty though and the kit definitely seems like a good investment compared to spending $30/mani!

I was semi-bummed to hear about this kit a few weeks ago, for my birthday my mom got me an entire Shellac kit and while I LOVE it the colors for Red Carpet are around $10 where the Shellac are in the $15-20 range. I seriously am in love with doing my own Shellac manicures now, I’ve done it twice since I got my kit and am slowly trying to build my color collection!

Also, I did it for Hawaii which was PERFECT. Doing the Shellac for vacations makes sure you have a flawless manicure the whole trip instead of having chipped nails within the first couple days, especially if you are doing a lot of beach and pool time – that can be hard on the nails!